A husband, father and pastor learning to trust Jesus each step of the way

The Journey Begins

One short plane ride from Celina, Ohio to Dallas, Texas somehow felt like a much bigger journey than the 1,000 or so miles it actually covered. Last week our journey toward missionary life began.

In my last post I shared how my world has been flipped upside down. I didn’t receive a new calling so much, but the way I will live out my ministry is rapidly changing. Beginning July 1, 2017 I will step away from pastoral ministry and begin missionary work with Time to Revive. Heidi and I traveled to Dallas for missionary training to officially begin this new ministry assignment.

This new adventure has been in overwhelming in some ways and yet filled with incredible peace. God used last week’s time to confirm again this step of faith.

The flight home was interesting. We boarded our flight like normal, but not long after getting everyone on board we got that dreaded voice over the intercom. You can instantly tell when the news isn’t good and the pilot himself speaks before you have even left the terminal. A mechanical issue meant that everyone had to get back off the plane and wait. About two hours after our scheduled departure we finally got off the ground.

The Sunday we flew back home it was gray and rainy. Clouds covered the sky and everything was damp and drizzly all day. But after just a few minutes and a steep ascent our Delta aircraft broke through the clouds and into a beautiful sunset. The picture to the left tries to capture what we saw, but hardly does it justice.

This little incident quickly became a spiritual metaphor for me. Sometimes life looks gray and cloudy. Sometimes taking a step of faith means set backs, enduring the unexpected, and doing hard things. But when God is in it, we can always be confident of what lies on the other side of the storm.

As our plane grew higher that day we broke free from the cloudy gloom and into the heavens which screamed of God’s beauty. And somehow the grayness of the day actually helped us realize the beauty above even more.

Whatever you are facing right now…trust God’s goodness. Whatever storm you may face…God’s breathtaking presence is still there, even when it’s hard to see. You may even find that the storm helps you see God’s beauty all the more.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:28

Having returned from our training in Dallas I am now beginning to meet with people who might share the vision for what God has called us to with Time to Revive. I am working on putting together a team of prayer partners and financial partners so that we can starting working full time this summer.

If you like to learn more about ways you can partner with us, I would love to sit down and personally share with you. Please contact me and we can setup a time to meet.

Thanks in advance for your support and prayers! Together we’ll keep learning to trust Jesus each step of the way!

If you want to check out my missionary page with Time to Revive, it’s now live and you can click here.